Sitting on a white leather couch in the living room of his Edina home, Josh Harding doesn't get emotional as he tells his story.

He looks completely healthy. He doesn't seem scared. He speaks so confidently, so courageously, you'd never know his life has been altered forever.

"I don't look at this like I've got to take a new path," said Harding, drafted 10 years ago by the Wild and months off signing a new three-year contract. "This is a little bump in the road. I've had lots in life."

Harding, 28, has been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, an incurable autoimmune disease in which the body randomly attacks and eats away the protective lining of his nerves and causes them to scar. It causes problems with balance, fatigue and blurred vision. There are 25,000 new cases diagnosed in the United States every year.

"I had a couple days where I felt bad for myself, but no more," said Harding, who plans on continuing his career. "There's things in life that happen. Sometimes you can't explain it. You deal with it."

After keeping the disease private from everyone other than his immediate family for more than a month, Harding began calling friends Wednesday. He spoke to nearly every one of his teammates. He called Wild General Manager Chuck Fletcher and coach Mike Yeo.

Josh Harding is not only very, very talented but he's just about as good of a guy as you could get in the league...very unfortunate for Josh and hope it all works out for him. This guy just doesn't quit though, he's gonna power right through it and have a very good career...

I truly feel for the guy...especially when he relies on his body, as an athlete, for a living. Thing is, the point in time of diagnosis doesn't necessarily relate to a negative for him. MS affects every person differently. Some people never even notice the symptoms and, therefore, never realize they have the disease. The other end of that spectrum, sadly, is that there are people with MS that are severely handicapped, possibly to the point of being confined to a wheelchair or bed.

I feel for him and his family. My mother passed away in Feb of 2011 from complications with MS and shortly before she died her brother was diagnosed as well.

Hopefully his story turns out like those I've heard where MS patients run marathons. It's definitely tough to watch someone you love struggle with the fact that they can't force their body to do something they know they should be able to.